The Pro Football Hall of Fame is celebrating it's 50th Anniverary this summer. The very best and most influential in the history of the game have been inducted each year since that first year in 1963. The league started play in 1920 so the Hall of Fame had a lot of catching up to do in that first year. They made a nice dent with this inaugural class of 17 players and administrators.
Sammy Baugh
Bert Bell
Joe Carr
Earl "Dutch" Clark
Red Grange
George Halas
Mel Hein
Wilbur (Pete) Henry
Cal Hubbard
Don Hutson
Earl "Curly" Lambeau
Tim Mara
George Preston Marshall
Johnny "Blood" McNally
Bronko Nagurski
Ernie Nevers
Jim Thorpe
I find it interesting that two of the most recognized from this list, Red Grange and Jim Thorpe, did the least in professional football. Thorpe's best years were before the new professional league was formed. He was the first league president but that was in name only. He was the president and a player. He still had some nice moments on the football field. They just weren't as frequent. Grange was in his prime when he joined the Chicago Bears in 1925. His signing likely saved the struggling league. Grange was a national hero and he brought the crowds. The Bears went on a brutal, barnstorming tour following the 1925 season. It brought in desperately needed funds but the grueling tour and injuries took their toll on Grange. An injury in 1928 further robbed him of his spectacular open-field running. He may not have been the game-breaking runner of his college days but he became an excellent defensive back for the Bears. Thorpe and Grange may not have played their best football in the NFL but their impact on the NFL is without doubt. The league likely doesn't survive the 1920s if either chose something other than football to do.
Players have always been the faces of professional football. These days the survival of the NFL is pretty easy. The popularity is sky high and there is a seemingly never ending supply of football talent. The league basically sells itself. The early decades weren't so easy. The players in that 1963 class were the best of those early decades. Despite being the faces of the league they don't get the chance to play without the administrators and owners that kept the league together. Joe Carr and Bert Bell were the ideal men to lead as president and commissioners. Their vision and the work they put in to reach that vision were crucial. Owners George Halas, Tim Mara, and George Preston Marshall were the backbone of the league. Art Rooney was inducted in 1964. Curly Lambeau may not have been the owner of the Green Bay Packers but he made all football decisions and coached one of the best teams in the league.
The only thing that has always bothered me about this inaugural class is the absence of Packers fullback/linebacker Clarke Hinkle. He was inducted the next year but he's an inaugural member in my book. The Hinkle-Nagurski clashes were epic. Some of the best football battles in the history of the game. It's a minor complaint. With 43 years of great players waiting and deserving, the decision-makers had to draw the line somewhere.
Packers lineman Cal Hubbard has the significant distinction of being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Baseball Hall of Fame. After he was through being one of the finest tackles in pro football, Hubbard became one of the great umpires in the history of baseball.
This year, we will see Cris Carter, Warren Sapp, Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen, Bill Parcells, Curley Culp, and Dave Robinson join those 17 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There were about 250 in between.
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